Australian Detained at U.S. Border for Overstaying Visa Is Released

An Australian man who was detained by United States customs officials last month after he briefly overstayed his visa has been released on bond and asked to leave the country within four months, the authorities confirmed on Thursday.

The man, Baxter Reid, gained international media attention after his girlfriend, Heather Kancso, set up a GoFundMe campaign to help cover his legal fees. In an update to the GoFundMe page posted on Wednesday, Ms. Kancso said Mr. Reid had been released on bond and given 120 days to leave the United States voluntarily.

“We will be making our way back to Australia within the next two weeks,” she said in the post. “We cannot express how grateful we are for everything and every one of you beautiful beautiful souls.”

Khaalid H. Walls, a spokesman for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed that an immigration judge on Wednesday had allowed Mr. Reid to voluntarily leave the United States, and he had been released from custody. He added that Mr. Reid’s case would be monitored to ensure that he leaves.

Reached by phone for comment, Ms. Kancso declined to answer any further questions.

The couple had raised $10,065 in 12 days. That money was at one point frozen as GoFundMe worked to verify additional information about the campaign. GoFundMe did not immediately respond to an inquiry on Thursday about whether the couple had been able to gain access to the funds.

Mr. Reid’s brother, Alex Reid, confirmed to the BBC that his brother would be returning to Australia, saying that Baxter was “not angry, he’s not upset, he doesn’t hold grudges.”

“He’s just happy,” the brother continued.

Ms. Kancso said she and Mr. Reid had been under the mistaken impression that Mr. Reid’s B-1/B-2 visa would allow him to stay for five years, as long as he exited and re-entered the country every six months. On April 29, the last day before Mr. Reid’s length of stay expired, the couple traveled to the northern border, planning to travel briefly to Canada before returning.

But Canadian border officials would not let them through, Ms. Kancso said in her original account, adding in a radio interview later that those officials had been concerned that the United States would deny Mr. Reid re-entry, leaving him stranded in Canada.

By the time the Canadian officials were through with them, Ms. Kancso said, Mr. Reid’s time had expired. He was arrested by United States customs officials and taken to a detention center in Buffalo, with a hearing set for May 10.